Chapter 104 : In the Name of the Southern Union
Chapter 104: In the Name of the Southern Union
There were many kinds of energy that the Demon King, and the towers, accepted.
Most representative were negative, intangible emotions such as sorrow, anger, curses, and despair, but those were originally no more than auxiliary means.
Blood and life. There was nothing more noble or superior than the innate energy possessed by living beings, and in other dimensions, it was common to drive humans to death and convert that into Demonic Points.
However, in Arein, that was impossible.
To draw blood was to call forth death, and there were no humans or heroes who would calmly stand by while the Demon King called for death.
In other words, the fact that the procurement of Demonic Points through negative emotions had become mainstream was proof that the Demon King was the weaker party in Arein.
And the fact that it had unavoidably become the mainstream meant that other methods were superior.
There had been no fewer than three battles.
Although they were not large-scale wars where thousands or tens of thousands clashed, monsters became entangled, calling forth even more deaths.
Moreover, the main participants were not ordinary humans, but knights and mages who had accumulated mana and aura.
The higher the caliber of the human, the greater the life energy that could be procured.
That was why.
The negative energy of the makeshift towers was fairly abundant.
At the very least, more had accumulated than he had expected.
It was enough to guess how fiercely they had fought while cursing one another.
“Then the cavern with the vein is currently occupied by the Southern Union?”
“Yes, that is correct.”
“I suppose I should take a look.”
Leaving Ernan, Roger, and the elves to the Southern Union, Berje headed alone toward the Pilerium Mountains.
As he drew closer to the cave leading to the vein, he sensed quite a number of presences.
They had built wooden palisades around the cave and established a camp. Easily a thousand troops. It was enough to guess just how much importance the Southern Union placed on the mana stone mine.
‘Pablo Barkat isn’t here.’
He was probably inside the cave.
There was not just one cave leading to the cavern with the vein, and the point where the Empire and the Southern Union faced each other was ultimately the cavern itself.
He slipped inside while avoiding the sentries. From then on, it was easy. The cave was dark, and darkness was something the Demon King was intimately familiar with.
He dashed forward swiftly. The soldiers he occasionally passed failed to notice his presence.
“Was it the wind?”
The cavern he finally arrived at was filled with thorough preparations. They had erected barricades by mixing wood and stone, dug traps, and installed magic circles.
Thanks to the high ceiling, watchtowers had been raised and archers deployed. There were even a small number of mana cannons.
They had truly committed their full strength.
‘The future has changed.’
Previously, the side defending this place had been the Empire, but this time, it was the Southern Union.
Could the Empire truly reclaim this place?
Berje knocked out a knight standing guard on the outskirts and changed clothes.
He buried the unconscious knight in the ground, even putting on the helmet to completely cover his face. Then he suppressed his presence as much as possible.
“Hey, it’s shift change.”
After waiting a moment, a new knight arrived.
“Yeah.”
“Damn it, a high-grade asset like me stuck standing guard. Don’t you think?”
“We brought mostly knights rather than regular soldiers, so it can’t be helped.”
“Your accent’s unusual.”
The man checked the emblem engraved on the armor.
“Are you from the Torcan Kingdom?”
“Yes.”
“I hear that place has a lot of exchanges with other nations.”
“Maritime trade is fairly active.”
After matching the conversation for a bit, he left the watchtower. He encountered countless knights and mages, but none paid him any attention.
“Hmm?”
Except for one.
“Hey, you there?”
Berje swallowed his breath and focused even more on suppressing his presence.
“That’s a familiar aura. Strangely pure, too….”
Pablo Barkat frowned.
“Are you affiliated with the Torcan Kingdom?”
“Yes.”
“Your voice is also somewhat… Take off your helmet.”
“Pardon?”
“I said, take off your helmet.”
‘Fuck?’
He had infiltrated to get a closer look, but he never imagined he would be exposed this quickly.
‘Should I just run?’
Wouldn’t that end with him merely being suspected as an Imperial spy?
It was at that moment.
Clang clang clang—
The alarm rang out.
“Enemy!”
“It’s the Imperial Army!”
“Those damn bastards again.”
The camp erupted into chaos. Pablo Barkat spat out a curse and ran off. Berje let out a sigh of relief.
‘Lucky.’
Perfect timing. He had wanted to observe a clash between the two forces anyway.
Berje blended in with the other knights and headed toward the barricade.
* * *
Click—
Pablo Barkat lowered his visor.
Thud thud thud thud—
The ground trembled. Due to the nature of caves and caverns, the vibrations felt even stronger.
“Don’t tell me, horses?”
“Here?”
Horses were fast and powerful creatures, but they were constrained by space.
Let alone a narrow, damp cave, or a cavern that was only slightly larger yet practically sealed.
Horses were sensitive creatures, and riding them in a place like this was never a wise choice.
Pablo thought the same. That was why he assumed it would be no more than one or two at most. The grand noise and vibration were just characteristics of the cave.
But—
“Insane!”
“These lunatics, they’re charging here?”
What appeared after rounding the corner was a knight order numbering close to fifty. All were fully armed, maintaining formation as they charged.
‘That’s cavalry skill bordering on the divine.’
Pablo was impressed that they had even brought horses this far in, and that they were galloping at full speed. But he soon faced the reality that the threat was right in front of him.
“Open the gate!”
“Your Highness!”
“Improvised logs won’t be able to stop their charge. I’ll block them myself!”
The gate opened. Pablo hurried to the front. His personal guard, the Black Wing Knight Order, gripped their shields and stood with him.
“Your Highness.”
“Stay sharp. That is….”
Pablo clenched his teeth.
Charging lances were leveled. Aura surged forth. Nearly fifty auras resonated in unison.
They gathered and fused, taking on a single form.
The knight order rapidly closed the distance. Magical traps activated. Soldiers atop the palisade loosed arrows.
But none of it could pierce the resonating aura.
“…Because it’s the Red Dragon Knight Order.”
“M-My god!”
As the distance closed, the patterns engraved on their armor became clear.
A dragon motif so vivid it looked ready to roar at any moment. It was dyed red.
The dragon crest that symbolized the Zespine Empire.
“You sons of bitches…!”
Pablo drew out his aura to the absolute limit. A massive greatsword nearly five meters tall surged up, and the allied forces burst into cheers.
“Your Highness!”
“That’s right, we have His Highness!”
The allied troops, who had been cowed by the enemy’s momentum, regained their morale.
Pablo thrust his sword forward. At the same time, he stepped out.
The knight order arrived.
──────!
The earth flipped over.
The horses screamed.
The palisade collapsed.
People were sent flying.
And then—
Pablo Barkat was pushed back.
“Keugh…!”
His aura shattered. Muscles tore. His eyes became bloodshot.
Even so, Pablo endured.
But his limbs did not. Black wings could not contend with a red dragon.
Kuaaaagh—
Kuhuk—
Members of the Black Wing Knight Order were flung away, screaming.
The formation collapsed. Behind it, hundreds of Imperial troops poured in.
“You bastards…!”
Pablo swung his sword at an enemy knight.
Kraaaang—
Red aura blocked him.
“So you are the famed Pablo Barkat. It is an honor to cross blades with you. This one is the commander of the Red Dragon Knight Order, Halo—”
“I have no interest in the names of corpses, so shut up!”
There could be no second defeat. Pablo roared.
The full-scale battle over the vein began.
* * *
‘The Red Dragon Knight Order….’
The Empire had played an extreme hand.
Dragons were the symbol of the Zespine imperial family.
It was the supreme crest permitted only to five knight orders.
A knight order directly under the imperial family.
The strongest force of the vast Empire.
They were ferocious, strong, and superior.
With the Red Dragon Knight Order fully committed to a lance charge, the outcome was practically decided—wings would be broken, and the dragon would let out a roar of victory.
‘It’s decided.’
Pablo Barkat fought desperately, but the commander of the Red Dragon Knight Order did not fall far behind him, and with their formation collapsing from the very start, the Southern Union was buried beneath the Red Dragon Knight Order’s fearsome reputation.
The overall difference in level was also severe.
Why else would the Empire be called an Empire?
How could the Empire have become an Empire, and still remain an Empire to this day?
Before absolute military force, the alliance rapidly fell apart.
The Southern Union’s fatal mistake was that, even in the face of a great enemy called the Empire, they kept each other in check and failed to deploy each nation’s finest elites, and that they had been intimidated by the Red Dragon Knight Order’s reputation.
At the same time, the Empire had exploited that opening and dispatched one of its greatest forces.
Of course, this was nothing more than a small battle. From the Southern Union’s perspective, it was merely a single defeat after multiple victories, and there were plenty of chances to reclaim what was lost.
‘They won’t give up just like this, will they?’
Still, it was true that a small unease had begun to sprout.
Before the regression, the matter had ended with the Empire occupying the vein.
Perhaps this incident would become the starting point of following the same path as before the regression.
The fact that the Empire had sent the Red Dragon Knight Order meant they were truly determined and that they had no intention of backing down.
If they were beaten again and again, the alliance would eventually give up. Just like in the past.
‘That is—’
Not what Berje wanted.
The war had to continue.
It had to grow larger and more violent.
The more so, the more he would gain.
‘The scent of this battlefield.’
Rage, resentment, and curses directed at one another.
Screams filled with pain.
Overflowing blood.
Fading life force.
Everything was beautiful.
To preserve this beauty, balance had to be maintained.
And right now, Berje was wearing the armor of a Southern Union knight.
He drew a knight’s sword.
He suppressed his presence and seeped into the chaotic battlefield.
He headed toward the fiercest point.
“Die!”
A flash cleaved through space. The body of the Red Dragon Knight Order’s commander staggered.
Pablo advanced by the distance his opponent retreated. He unleashed an even stronger slash. But from both sides, other swords stabbed into the opening.
In that moment, the Red Dragon Knight Order’s commander steadied his shaken stance.
“You cowardly bastards!”
“Is there such a thing as cowardice in war?”
“Aren’t you ashamed to bear the name of the Red Dragon Knight Order?”
“I didn’t expect you to worry about us so much. But don’t concern yourself. There will be no one to criticize a coordinated attack against the hero of the South.”
Objectively speaking, in individual martial might, Pablo surpassed the Red Dragon Knight Order’s commander.
But the Red Dragon Knight Order was not alone, and Pablo had no choice but to keep missing crucial opportunities.
“Shut up!”
Pablo raged. He feigned rage.
‘Give flesh to take bone.’
He charged like a bull that had lost all reason.
────!
Overpowered in strength, the Red Dragon Knight Order’s commander took a step back. As always, the knights’ swords immediately aimed for his blind spots.
Pablo twisted his body. At the same time, he poured even more strength into the hand gripping his sword.
Kagagag—
Red aura cleaved through the armor. It dug into flesh.
A dizzying pain surged over him.
But it was not fatal. He grit his teeth and forced his body forward.
The sword tip collided with the opponent’s blade once more.
Kjjeoong—
But this time was different.
The single strike that carried everything behind it knocked aside the hastily raised sword.
The chest was laid bare.
Pablo’s eyes flashed.
‘Stab.’
And kill. Even if it did not kill, leave a fatal wound. And turn the tide of battle.
“Where do you think you’re—!”
But another sword appeared. It was a Red Dragon knight, and it collided with Pablo’s blade.
No matter that he was a Red Dragon knight, the sword of a mere knight could not stop Pablo. Still, there was a slight rebound, and a brief moment was wasted.
And that brief instant was enough for the Red Dragon Knight Order to restore their formation.
“You filthy bastards…!”
Pablo’s eyes became bloodshot.
He felt as though he might spit blood at the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that had slipped through his fingers right before his eyes.
At that moment—
Kwachik—
A pure white blade pierced straight through the chest of the Red Dragon Knight Order’s commander.
“…Huh?”
“…Huh?”
Pablo’s pupils dilated.
Red blood flowed down along the blade.
“Long live the Southern Union! Long live His Highness Pablo Barkat!”
The knight who had ambushed the commander from behind shouted.
His gaze turned toward Pablo. Their eyes met.
‘Red?’
The eyes glimpsed through the visor were red and resolute.
Had there been such a knight?
“You Imperial dogs. How dare you covet whose territory this is! This place is a divine providence of the Southern Union, by the Southern Union, for the Southern Union!”
The knight roared.
‘Divine?’
Waaaaaaah—
The soldiers of the Southern Union, having confirmed his achievement, erupted into cheers.